Peep Show

Following Angelina Jolie’s lead, everyone from models to the Duchess of Cambridge are going full tilt on the slit leg.

Left to right: Anja Rubik, Claire Courtins-Clarins, Elettra Wiedemann

The peek-a-boo leg—toned, taught, and tan—is fashion’s latest flaunt-worthy accessory. At Monday night’s Costume Institute ball models Anja Rubik and Elettra Wiedemann came gam-ready, while social swan Claire Courtin-Clarins’s fringed Mugler dress left little to hide. Even the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton, caught the thigh-high fever and chose to show a little leg (albeit demure by comparison), in a creamy, slit-to-the-knee Roland Mouret dress, while attending a private dinner in London on Tuesday night.

Left to right: Angelina Jolie, Miss New York Kaitlin Monte, Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton

However, before Angelina’s right leg had its own Twitter account, a direct result of the actress’s now infamous and curious pose at the Academy Awards, it was Kaitlin Monte, the reigning Miss New York, who started the year out with her best leg forward in January’s Miss America Pageant. “I got such a kick out of Angelina rocking a high slit just a few week later,” says Monte, who apparently takes credit for starting the trend and is currently gearing up for next month’s Miss USA pageant. While some can chalk up their stunning stilts to God-given good genes, herewith are some tips and tricks to get legs into werk-ing condition:

5. Body By Simone, $35 for a single class, Bodybysimone.com Manhattan-based trainer Simone de la Rue’s heart-pumping cardio-dance classes are sought out by the likes of Anne Hathaway and Sandra Bullock. “I include a lot of work at the ballet barre, along with high-energy dance routines that are great for burning calories while also shaping the calves, quads, and glutes.”